Go to Hell!

But during Lent a good read is Dante’s Inferno. My favorite translation used to be Dorothy Sayers, but I’ve been converted. I am really enjoying Tony Esolen’s translation. You can find it here. I’m sorry I first bought Esolen’s books in paperback. They are already coming apart. If you can afford it, get the hardcover copies.

If Dante is daunting, why not try an updated and very well written version by my friend–the prolific author Paul Thigpen? His book has the unfortunate title, My Visit to Hell. He hates the title himself, admitting that it sounds like a back to school essay… “What I did on my summer vacation…”

Paul’s book is gripping, funny, poignant and vivid. It’s written as prose, with an up to date guide through the inferno and with up to date characters and a few changes to take on the evils of the modern world that Dante could never have envisioned. You can get a copy here.